Mark these Key Words: Jesus
Joan of Arc’s dream at age 16 was freedom for her homeland from English dominion. Every great person I’ve ever met, read about in history, lived their dream. They thought about their dream, fought for their dream, and sacrificed greatly for their dream. Jesus’ dream, believe it or not, was a Roman cross and His horrific death there to purchase your pardon.
Paul’s dream was to tell the world about that cross. Moses dream was the Promised Land; Edison was the light bulb and he tried over 700 elements to discover the right one. The Wright brothers’ dream was flight.
One of my heroes, Harriet Tubman, was an 1840’s slave who opened the infamous “Underground Railroad” that led hundreds of fellow slaves to freedom. She was asked, “Why do you risk it?” “Why do you sacrifice so greatly?” In Resolute Focus she said, “I realized either I was going to be free or I was going to die a slave.”
Nehemiah 2:1-9
“And it came about in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, ‘Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tomb, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?’ Then the king said to me, ‘What would you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my father’s tomb, that I may rebuild it.’ Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, ‘How long will your journey be, and when will you return?’ So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time. And I said to the king, ‘If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.’ And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.”
Nehemiah’s dream began with a broken heart. His longing, yearning heart throb was to rebuild his beloved home city Jerusalem and give up all of his personal luxuries and lifestyle of ease to risk his life day after day to accomplish his dream. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, began his great mission to care for the starving of the world by fervently praying, “God, break my heart for what breaks the heart of God.”
What do you see in your world, your family, your life that breaks your heart and/or breaks God’s heart?
“Personal Answer” (People who are lost and will spend an eternity in Hell if they do not repent and accept the free gift that Jesus offers).